Caravaggio Rome Guide

7/27/2019 Caravaggio Rome Guide

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Caravaggioin Rome

A tour around the

sights of Rome to dis-

cover the Masterpieces

of Michelangelo Merisi

da Caravaggio.

1. BORGHESE GALLERY

2. LUDOVISI LODGE

3. CONVENT AND CHURCH

OF SANTA MARIA DELLA

CONCEZIONE

4. BARBERINI PALACE

5. DORIA PAMPHILJ

GALLERY

6. THE CAPITOLINE ART

GALLERY

7. CHURCH OF SAN LUIGI

DEI FRANCESI

8. CHURCH OF

SANTAGOSTINO

9. CHURCH OF SANTA

MARIA DEL POPOLO

10. VATICAN ART GALLERY

11. CORSINI GALLERY

turismo


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Roma for youCollection of information by the Roma City Council

Published byCosmofilm s.p.a. - Elio de Rosa, Editor

Editorial director:Paolo Galeotti

Text:Sofia Barchiesi

Editor:Emanuela Bosi

Layout:Antonio DAlessandro

Graphics:Marco C. Mastrolorenzi

Translations by:Protos Translations & Communication (Naples - Italy)

Photos:

Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro Archives: 29, 30, 31, 32

Roma Sacra Archives: 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25

Artistic and Historical Treasures Service of Roma (SBAS): 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 20

Maria Teresa Natali: 24

Claudia Primangeli/Soriani f.c.v:

Francesca Sinagra/Soriani f.c.v.:

Paolo Soriani: 12, 13, 14, 20, 26, 27, 28, 33


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Aseries of specialistic guides aim to prolong ones

stay in Rome; a suggestion for people who have

a few extra days and desire to deepen the

knowledge of our city.

Carefully studied itineraries to accompany the visitor in the

discovery of the great patrimony of the Renaissance in Ro-

me through the testimonies of great artists such as Cara-

vaggio, Raffaello, Michelangelo.

Walks through baroque art, to admire the splendid architec-

tures by Bernini and Borromini.

Advice for everyone, alike tourists and Romans, in order to

quietly discover and enjoy the testimonies of ages that

played a major part in constructing the extraordinary pre-

sent image of our city.

Tourism OfficeMunicipality of Rome


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TheMap

4

1. BORGHESE GALLERY

2. LUDOVISI LODGE

3. MONASTERY AND CHURCH OF SANTA

MARIA DELLA CONCEZIONE

4. BARBERINI PALACE

5. DORIA PAMPHILJ GALLERY

6. THE CAPITOLINE ART GALLERY

7. CHURCH OF SAN LUIGI DEI FRANCESI

8. CHURCH OF SANTAGOSTINO

9. CHURCH OF SANTA

MARIA DEL

POPOLO

10. VATICAN ART GALLERY

11. CORSINI GALLERY

San PietroCastel

SantAngelo

Piazza delRisorgimento

10

11


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TheMap

5

The Rive

rTib

er

Piazzadel Popolo

PiazzaNavona

PiazzaVenezia

Villa Borghese

1

3

4

2

5

6

7

8

9


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The Borghese Gallery enjoys the record

of having the most number of Cara-

vaggios works. No other museum in

the world holds six canvasses by the famousLombard Maestro and up to the Napoleonic

period there were double the number of

which, what is more, demonstrated a whole

life dedicated to painting: from a young age

up to the last stage of his stormy life.

The Young Girl with basket of fruit

and The Sick Bacchus are the works of a

young man. They come from the seizure of

the Cavalier dArpinos collection. The latter

was a well-established painter but had the

misfortune to come up against the greedy

1stVisit

Young girl with basket of fruit (photo SBAS)


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1st

Visit

Scipione Borghese.

In 1607, the painterfrom Arpino was im-

prisoned for reasons that

are still not clear. Cardi-

nal Borghese, with the

excuse of a collection of

arquebuses owned by

the unfortunate artist,

blackmailed him in or-

der to gain possession

of his outstanding col-

lection of paintings.

Cavalier dArpino was,

in fact, released after

having left the collec-

tion at the ApostolicChamber from which, it

seems, it passed as a pa-

pal donation to Scipione

Borghese. The Young

Girl with basket of fruit, dated between

1593 and 1595, interpreted, in a new way,

8

St. Jerome (photo SBAS)

The Sick Bacchus (photo SBAS)


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Lombard, Venetian, Tuscan and Flemish

ideas. There are many naturalistic details

that attract the observer to the minute detail

of the fruit in the basket held by the girl with

a masculine face.

In the Sick Bacchus, painted between

1593 and 1595, Caravaggio, only a short

while before leaving the Hospital of the Con-

1stVisit

9

Madonna dei Palafrenieri(photo SBAS)


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1st

Visit

solazione - where he

had been admitted

after being kicked

by a horse - wanted

to portray a votive

offering, through the

livid lips and the pal-lid flesh, for having

escaped death.

The Madonna dei

Palafrenieri, paint-

ed between Novem-

ber 1605 and March

1606, was commis-

sioned by the Arch-Confraternity of Pa-

pal Grooms for their

altar in the Basilica

of St. Peters. It was

refused by the first

clients because of the lack of decorum and of

the crude realism of the figures of the Virgin,

of the Child and of St. Anne, or perhaps, on

the suggestion of Paolo V Borghese, who

thus allowed his nephew a quick acquisition

of the painting. The altar-piece shows the

theme of the Immaculate Conception.

The St. Jerome was probably done di-

rectly for cardinal Scipione Borghese be-

tween 1605 and 1606 as a mark of gratitudeof the artist who had been helped out of

trouble with the Law. It could well be the first

painting by Caravaggio to enter the Borghese

collection.

Caravaggio painted David with the head

of Goliath between 1609 and 1610, during

his second stay in Naples, and probably sent

it to cardinal Scipione Borghese to obtainfavour in view of a return to Rome, the city

he had run away from after a serious

episode with the Law. Caravaggio depicted

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San Giovannino (photo SBAS)


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1stVisit

the cut off head of

Goliath, that is, of the

sinner; the painter

admitted his guilt

and asked for grace.

The event with the

San Giovannino is

perhaps tied to the last

hours of life of the

artist. It mustnt be for-

gotten that the paint-

ing was aboard the

ship on which Cara-

vaggio left Naples toreturn to Rome, taking

with him the work to

give to the cardinal.

The Baptist was one of

Caravaggios favourite

subjects.

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Galleria Borghese, piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5 - 00197 Roma

Phone 06 32.810 199 75.75.10 (register tickets) Fax 06

32651329 www.galleriaborghese.it [email protected].

Times of opening:every day except Mondays, 1st January and the25th December from 9 am to 7 pm. The ticket-office closed

before 1 hour.

Entrance:complete e 8,50, reduced e 5,25, free for under 18s and

over 65s; e 2,00 for booking; e 5,00 guided tours.

Services:The museum has special access facilities for handicapped

people.

The museum, with entrance very two hours, is by limited numbers;

for bookings Tel 06 32810. There is a guided tour with art historians

for each time slot. For bookings for guided tours in foreign languages

and groups of a maximum of 25 people, Phone 06 8555952.

David with the Head of Goliath (photo SBAS)


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LudovisiLodge

The lodge, in required atthe Administration of thePrince Boncompagni Lu-

dovisi, fax 06 42010745, pricee5,16 visitable in appointmentFriday 11.00 am and 12.00 am issituated along Via Lombardia, 46is - together with the palace thepresent home of the Embassy ofthe United States of America -the only remaining part of thesplendid Ludovisi Villa, built bycardinal Ludovico on the HortiSallustiani in the first half of the1600s and completely destroyedat the end of the last century. The16th century building is in the

form of a cross; projections were added toeach wing in 1858. The Lodge is also calleddellAurora from the masterpiece by Guerci-no who also painted the Allegories of day andnight, in tempera on the wall. The rooms al-

so have splendid decorations done by Agosti-no Tassi, Paul Brill and Domenichino.

2ndVisit

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According to old information byBellori, biographer of many 17thcentury artists, Caravaggio paint-

ed the gods Jupiter, Neptune andPluto, sons of Chronos, Lord of the Uni-

verse in oil on the wall, here, in thesmall vault of the lavatory of the Alche-my laboratory. The work has been datedto the end of the last decade of the1500s, when the lodge was owned bycardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, avery influential person and interested in,among other things, Alchemy. The sun

is in the centre and above it is Jupiterwith an eagle. To the sides, below, arethe foreshortened figures of Neptunewith trident and sea-horse with webbedfeet, and Pluto with Cerberus.

Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto(photo Boncompagni Ludovisi)

Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (de-

tail) (photo Boncompagni Ludovisi)


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Monastery and Church of

Santa Maria della Concezione

The Church and monastery of the Capu-

chins, the name with which the two

buildings are better known, rise at

the beginning of Via Veneto, immediately

after Piazza Barberini. The church (the

first in Rome to be dedicated to the Im-

maculate Conception of Mary) was built at

the beginning of the 1600s by cardinal An-

tonio Barberini and designed by Antonio

Casoni. With almost all built by the Capu-

chin brothers, the building has a single

nave and five side chapels, the altars are

all made of wood, to recall the poverty ofthe Franciscans. It holds famous works as

well as the celebrated cemetery below,

united to the large monastery, the provinc-

ial Curia of the order.

3rdVisit

13(Photo Roma Sacra)


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3rdVisit

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St. Francis meditating

Church of Santa Maria della Concezione, Via Veneto, 27

00187 Rome Phone 06 4871185

Times of opening:every day from 7 am to 12 am and from 3 pm to

7 pm.


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BarberiniPalace

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visit

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Built in the park of Cardinal Pio da

Carpi, the palace was planned by

Carlo Maderno after ownership

passed to Francesco Barberini in 1625.

Planned as a residence for the papal fami-ly, the building was provided with splen-

did gardens, making a true and proper

town house. The later intervention by

Bernini saw the construction of the central

saloon (decorated with the famous fresco

by Pietro da Cortona), of the loggia with

porch below and the great staircase with

squared stairwell. The design of the win-dows of the central part and the plan for

the great winding staircase can be attribut-

ed to Francesco Borromini. Bought by the

State in 1949, the palace holds the Na-

tional Gallery of Classic Art that, formed in

1895 and recently inaugurated, collects

works dating from the 12th to the 18th

Centuries, belonging to noble families

(Torlonia, Barberini, Chigi, Sciarra, etc.)

(photo Paolo Soriani)


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4th

visit

The Decapitation of

Holofernes , dated between1595 and 1600, coming from

the Coppi collection, can be identi-

fied with the Judith painted by Ca-

ravaggio for the banker, Ottaviano

Costa. The work, closely tied to the

traditionally important Biblical sto-

ry of the triumph of good over evil,

of virtue over vice, is noted for theseverity of the scene. The decisive

action of the heroine, who appears

cold and determined; with a slight

note of reaction on her face, as on

the other hand the ancient servant, with staring

eyes, contrast with Holofernes cry, his contract-

ed body stretched out on the bed in the last

seconds of life. The light emphasises the horrifying

wound from which a violent jet of blood spurts.

The representation of a non-Hebrew Holofernes,

the opposite of the Bible story, but completely

aware of his end, is new in Caravaggio. The famed

sensuality of Judith was originally highlighted by

the artist with the naked breast, later concealed by

the bodice. An admirer, and also

model, of Caravaggios, Girolama

Giustiniani, can be recognised in theJudith.

The Narcissus is a work dating

back to 1599 - 1600. The debated

attribution to Caravaggio has now

been recognised once and for all

after the restoration. The theme of

Narcissus who is looking at his re-

flection in the water, was con-sidered symbolic of the moral exhor-

tation know thyself.

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National Gallery of Classic Art, via Barberini, 18 00184 RomaPhone 06 4814591 Fax 06 32651329 [email protected] www.galleriaborghese.it/barberini/it

Times of opening:from tuesday to sunday from 8.30 am to 7 pm exceptMondays, 1st January and 25th December from 9 am to 7 pm.

Entrance: complete e 5,00, reduced e 2,50, free of charge for under 18sand over 65s.

Services: The museum has special access facilities for handicappedpeople.

For bookings of guided tours with art historians in foreign languages andfor groups of a maximum of 25 people, Phone 06 8555952 (e 80 in Ital-ian, e 104 in a foreign language)

Decapitation of Holofernes (photo SBAS)

Narcissus (photo SBAS)


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Doria PamphiljGallery

T

he gallery is situated in the splen-

did palace facing onto the Piazzadel Collegio Romano. Rising on

an earlier centre dating back to the 16th

century, the building was erected in the

early 1600s by the Aldobrandini family.

It passed as a gift to the young Olympia,

widow of her first husband Paolo Borghe-

se. It entered the Pamphilj family after

the second wedding of the noblewoman

to Camillo, nepotic cardinal of his uncle,Innocent X. From the second half of the

century, the palace was enlarged accord-

ing to the design by Antonio Del Grande,

who also took charge of the later work at

the end of the 1600s. In 1731, Gabriele

Valvassori modernised the building,

constructing the famous faade in Via

del Corso.

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Visit

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(photo Paolo Soriani)


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5th

Visit

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt,a work dating back to 1595, sum-

marises to perfection the period of

development of the artist; the Lombard experi-

ence and the influence of the Venetian

school, particularly evident in the softness

of the landscape on the right. A novelty in

this portrayal of a sacred theme is the rear-view of an angel-musician, in the centre of

the painting, playing a violin and following

the score held up by St. Joseph. On the

score is part of the cantus of the motet

Quam pulchra es et quam decora by the

Flemish, Nol Baulduin (1519), inspired by

the Song of Songs in the Old Testament

where it is the poetic dialogue between

bride and groom, and refers to the presence

of the newly-weds, both true, Joseph and

Mary, and symbolical, the Virgin and Christ.

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Rest on the Flight into Egypt (photo Doria Pamphilj)


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The CapitolineArt Gallery

W

as founded by Benedict XIV in

1748 and contains, for themost part, paintings (from the

Middle Ages to the 1700s) belonging tothe Sacchetti and Pio di Savoia families.The Gallery is in the Capitoline Museums

(which have the oldest public collectionsnot only in Rome but also in the world),housed in the Campidoglio and in thetwo palaces designed by Michelangelo.

Notably enriched thanks to the arrival ofworks through purchases, inheritancesand donations, the Capitoline Art Gallery

has been in the care of the Rome CityCouncil since 1847.

6th

Visit

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(Photo Paolo Soriani)


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The Good Luck (there is another

version in the Louvre) was painted for

cardinal Del Monte and can be dated

to 1594; contemporary to the Maddalena

(Doria Pamphilj) and to the Narcissus(Bar-berini Palace), with whom the male figure

has the damask fabric, visible

under the jacket, in common. A

gypsy is portrayed with the

elegant young man. While

reading his hand to predict the

future, she is removing his

ring. The subject is an allegory

on the idea of deceit, or a

moralistic invitation to not

lose oneself in vanity, alluding

to the richness of the young

mans clothes, to not give in to

the devils temptations, astute

and thieving, and of the flesh,aspect almost summarised, ac-

cording to tradition, by the in-

triguing figure of the gypsy.

6th

Visit

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Good luck (detail)(photo Rome City Council)

Good luck (photo Rome City Council)


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6th

Visit

The St. John

the Baptist was

an almost forgot-

ten painting until

it was rediscov-

ered with clamour

in 1953 in theMayors Office. It

was probably the

painting that Cara-

vaggio was paid

for by the noble-

man, Ciriaco Mat-

tei in 1602 andwhich was com-

missioned in rela-

tion to the name of

his first born son,

Giovanni Battista,

who inherited it.

22

St. John the Baptist (photo Rome City Council)

Capitoline Art Gallery Piazza del Campidoglio 00186 Roma

Phone 06 67102475 Fax 06 6785488 pren. 06 39967800

www.museicapitolini.org [email protected]

Times of opening:every day except Mondays, 25th December, 1st Ja-

nuary and 1st May from 9 am to 8 pm.

Entrance:completee 6,20; free of charge for under 18s and over 65s;singol prenotation e 1,50, school e 6,00, groups e 25,00;

e 3,50 guided tours.


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San Luigidei FrancesiB

egun in 1518 for the future Clement

VII, the church was completed at

the end of the same century by

Domenico Fontana on the design by Gia-

como Della Porta. The building, nationalchurch of the French, rises at the back of

Piazza Navona, next to the Senate House.

The ample faade in travertine stone is

decorated with figures of French Saints

and of Charlemagne. The interior with

three naves was arranged during the

course of the 18th century. Besides the

famous St. Matthews chapel, the churchhouses Domenichinos masterpiece; the

fresco of St. Cecilia in the second chapel

on the right (1616 - 17).

7th

Visit

23(Photo Roma Sacra)


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7th

Visit

In the Contarelli chapel, there are the

Stories of St. Matthew. From 1565,

the chapel belonged to the French eccle-

siastic, Mathieu Cointrel, who dedicated it to

his patron saint with the intention of starting

the decorations; the work, however, began

only after his death, on the commission of

the executor of his will, Virgilio Crescenzi. In

1591, Cavalier dArpino was given the com-

mission of frescoing the chapel, but eight

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The Martyrdom of St. Matthew (photo Roma Sacra)


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7th

Visit

years later still lacked the two

side paintings which were en-

trusted to Caravaggio.

The painter completed them be-

tween July 1599 and July 1600.

On the left is the Vocation of St.

Matthew and on the right is theMartyrdom of St. Matthew.

The realism of the portrayal em-

phasises the harshness of the

killing of the saint. The artist in-

terprets with originality, the trend

of the style of the Counter-re-

form, which insisted on the cele-

bration of martyred saints. Afterhaving renounced the Sculptors

group of Jacob Cobaert (in the

church of the Trinit dei Pellegri-

ni), the clergyman of San Luigi

entrusted Caravaggio with the

first version of the altar-piece

with St. Matthew and the An-

gel, of doubtful date, wavering

between 1593 and 1602. The

work, quickly rejected because of

the reduced size and for reasons

of decorum, was acquired by the

Marquis, Vincenzo Giustiniani

(destroyed in Berlin during the

last conflict) and substituted bythe one which can now be seen

on the altar, with the saint turned

towards the angel and leaning

with his legs on the stool precari-

ously balanced on the steps.

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Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi, 5

00186 Rome Phone 06 688271 Fax 06 68827228Times of opening:every day except Thursday afternoons, from 8.30

am to 12.30 am and from 3.30 pm to 7 pm.Services: The church has special access facilities for handicapped

people.

The vocation of St. Matthew (detail)(photo Roma Sacra)

St. Matthew and the Angel(photo Roma Sacra)


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The church ofSantAgostino

8th

Visit

26

Was erected in 1420, enlarged atthe end of the same century and

transformed by Luigi Vanvitellihalfway through the 1700s. The monu-

mental steps at the entrance connect thechurch to the city. The three nave interior

holds many famous works, besides thefamous Caravaggio and Raphael: the

Madonna del Parto by Jacopo Sanso-vino (1521), the decoration of the right

transept by Guercino and the tomb of

Santa Monica di Isaia by Pisa. Next dooris the Angelica Library, the first public

one in the city, founded at the beginningof the 1600s and set in the building

begun by Francesco Borromini.

(Photo Roma Sacra)


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8th

Visit

The Madonna dei Pelle-

grini is on the altar of

the first chapel on the

left, it belonged to the Caval-

letti family, and can be dated

to between 1603 and 1606.

Two wretched figures of pil-grims, the man with muddy

feet and the woman with a

dirty bonnet on her head,

kneel in front of the Virgin and

Child. The details, so crudely

real, provoke criticism and de-

rision from the public.

It is an interpretation of the

Madonna di Loreto: The Virgin

welcomes two travellers lean-

ing on the jamb of the door of

her humble but noble

house, a symbol of the

church. The light illumi-

nating the Virgin andChild indicates the

grace that also illumi-

nates the two pilgrims

who havent lost the

way of faith. According

to Baglione (1642), their

portrayal had caused

a lively reaction, not

necessarily negative as

is usually thought.

27

Church of SantAgostino, Via della Scrofa, 80

00186 Rome Phone 06 68801562 Fax 06 68215193 066833547 [email protected] of opening:every day from 7.40am to 11am and from 4pm to 7.30pmServices: The church does not have special access facilities for

handicapped people.

Madonna dei Pelligrini(photo Roma Sacra)

Madonna dei Pelligrini (detail)(photo Roma Sacra)


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Santa Mariadel Popolo

The church was founded on the site

of a small chapel built by Pasquale

II at the expense of the Roman

people, the reason for the later name.

Completely re-built halfway through the

15th century by an unknown architect,

the church was fitted out with a splendid

choir made by Donato Bramante at the

beginning of the 1500s. The simple

faade in travertine stone, erected on the

wishes on Sextus IV della Rovere, was in-

stalled by Gianlorenzo Bernini. The threenave interior has side chapels which hold

some exceptional works, among which

are the funeral monuments by Andrea

Sansovino, the frescoes by Pinturicchio

and the precious fire-glazed stain-glass

windows, the only ones in Rome, by

Guillaume de Marcillat.

9th

Visit

28 (Photo Roma Sacra)


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The Cerasi chapel is to the

left of the high altar. Here

we can find two of the

main artists of the time together:

the altar-piece is by Annibale

Carracci, with the Assumption,

while the two side paintingsportraying the Conversion of

St. Paul and the Crucifixion

of St. Peter are by Caravaggio.

In the Conversion, dominated by

the figure of the

horse, Saul is on the

ground taken at the

moment when the

divine light blinded

him on the road to

Damascus. In the

Martyrdom of St. Peter

the executioners are

raising the cross on to

which the apostle isalready nailed.

The two canvasses

currently on site are

the second versions

painted by the same

artist after the first

paintings on panel

(one, The Conversionof St. Paul is in the

Odescalchi collection)

were rejected by

Tiberio Cerasi, client

of the decoration.

9th

Visit

29

Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, piazza del Popolo, 12

00187 Roma Phone 06 3610836 Fax 06 3203155Times of opening: ferials 7 am to 12 am and from 4 pm to 7 pm

festives 8 am to 1.30 pm and from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm

Services: The museum does not have special access facilities forhandicapped people

The Crucifixion of St. Paul(Photo Roma Sacra)

The Conversion of St. Paul(Photo Roma Sacra)


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The VaticanArt Gallery

The first nucleus of the Vatican

Palaces was built halfway through

the 15th century, after the popes,

the Avignonese Captivity at an end,

decided to transfer their residence

from the Lateran to the Vatican. The

firs t residence, of square design, had a

quadrangular central courtyard (the

courtyard of the parrot) to which the

other buildings were slowly added.

The Vatican Museums; which, besides

the art gallery, hold priceless works;were built from the 1700s on, arranging

the papal collections started in the Re-

naissance period.

10thVisit

30 (Photo Paolo Soriani)


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The Deposi-

tion of

C h r i s t ,

painted between

1602 and 1604 was

originally housed

in the church of St.Mary in Vallicella,

headquarters of

the Congregation

of the Oratorio

founded by San

Filippo Neri. Here,

it was placed on

the second altar ofthe right hand nave,

in the chapel dedi-

cated to the Piet

(where there is,

now, a copy by the

Tyrolese painter,

Michele Koeck), in

relation to the rest

of the still existing decoration of the chapel,

glorifying the Holy Shroud. The client of the

painting was Girolamo Vittrici. The foreshortened

stone, besides being an important part of the

composition, can be interpreted as angular

stone, a metaphor for Christ himself.

10

thVisit

31

The Deposition of Christ (photo Musei Vaticani)

Vatican Museums, Viale Vaticano, 100 00165 Roma

Phone 06 69884947 06 69884676 (guided tours)

Times of opening:from november to february: from monday to fri-

day from 8.45 am to 12.20 am (1.45 pm); from march to oc-

tober: fron monday to friday from 8.45 am to 3.20 pm (4.45

pm); Every saturdays and the last sundays mounth from

8.45 to 12.20 am (1.45 pm)Entrance:complete e 12,00; under 14 years, schools and students

up to 26 years e 8,00.

Services:The museums have special access facilities for handicapped people.


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CorsiniGalleryH

as its headquarters in the monumental

Corsini Palace, situated in Via della Lun-gara, opposite Villa Farnesina. The build-

ing rises on the site of the old Riario Palace of

the early 1500s, where the Queen Christina ofSweden also lived, who founded an academyfrom which came the Arcadia.Bought by the Corsini in 1736, the building was no-

tably enlarged by Ferdinando Fuga, architect to thenoble Florentine family. The Accademia Nazionaledei Lincei also has its headquarters here, with animportant library. The collection records the taste

of cardinal Neri Corsini, nephew of Clement XII.The 18th century collection has the prize of havingremained mainly intact. The splendid park, already

part of the palace, from 1883 was used as home ofthe BotanicalGardens. It ex-tends towards

the Janiculum.

11th

Visit

32 (Photo Paolo Soriani)


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T

he St. John the Baptist in the desert

can be dated to the end of the Roman

period (1606), because of the intense

and directional use of light. The painting is

perhaps identifiable with that of identical sub-

ject owned by the widow of Onorio Longhi,

architect friend of the artist. The portrayal of

the Baptist is one of Caravaggios favourites,

which he did in many different versions, who

maybe identified himself with the surly char-acter of the saint, who left everything to re-

treat into the desert.

The painting is recorded, in 1784, in the

collection of Bartolomeo Corsini in Florence

where it probably arrived for the wedding

between the noble and Maria Felice Colon-

na-Barberini.

11th

Visit

33

Corsini Gallery, Via della Lungara, 10 - 00165 RomePhone 06 68802323Times of opening:every day except Mondays, the 25st December, 1st

January and 1st May from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm; July and Au-gust every day except Mondays from 8.30 am to 2 pm.

Entrance: complete e 4,00; reduced e 2,00 free of charge for under18s and over over 65s.

Services: The gallery has special access facilities for handicappedpeople.

For bookings of guided tours with art historians in foreign languagesand for groups of a maximum of 25 people, fax 06 8555952 (e 92,00)for studets of school e 2,58

St. John the Baptist in the Desert (photo SBAS)


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HisLife

The Life of the Artist

M

ichelangelo Merisi

was born in Caravag-

gio near Bergamo in

1571 of a family linked to a

branch of the Sforza family,

to the Colonnas and to the

Borromeos.

After a childhood spent be-

tween Milan and Caravaggio,

he entered, as an adolescent

in 1584, the workshop of Si-mone Peterzano in Milan

where he remained until

1587 - 88; he returned to his

home town but in 1592 he

was already in Rome. Here,

he began to go around with

people in the artistic field. Bio-

graphers of the 1600s de-

scribed the first artistic meet-

ings of the young Michelan-

gelo: Lorenzo Siciliano, An-

tiveduto Gramatica, and

above all Cavalier dArpino,

in whose workshop Caravag-

gio was put to work painting

flowers and fruit, beautifully imitated. He left the workshop of the

maestro and began to live a muddled life. He was admitted to theHospital of the Consolazione, maybe because of malaria - or because

of being kicked by a horse. He often changed lodgings. During his

wanderings he found hospitality with Monsignor Pandolfo Pucci,

where he wouldnt have had an easy life because a salad served Ca-

ravaggio for starters, main course and sweet (hence the nickname

of Monsignor Salad given to the prelate). In 1594 he appeared

among the employees of the influential and refined cardinal Del

Monte, in whose house he stayed until 1600. Del Monte introduced

him to a refined and select public of Roman collectors: VincenzoGiustiniani, Ciriaco Mattei, the Barberinis and the Massimos. He

painted easel works, masterpieces such as: The Sick BacchusandThe Young Girl with basket of fruit.

34

Michelangelo

Merisi da Caravaggio

David with the Head of Goliath (photo SBAS)


35/36

HisLife

Then came his first public

commission, the decoration

of the Contarelli chapel in the

church of San Luigi dei

Francesi.

Michelangelo often found

himself in trouble with the

Law (brawls and violent argu-

ments with soldiers and

functionaries, labourers, fel-

low painters and landlords).

In 1605, he escaped to Genoaafter having wounded the scribe, Mariano Pasqualone to defend

Lena, one of his favourite models with whom he had a relationship.

One particularly serious episode was the killing of Ranuccio Tomas-

soni on the 25th May 1606, during a ball match; it forced Caravag-

gio to run away. After taking refuge in the Colonnas Latian estate, he

went to Naples where he painted works such as The Seven works ofMercyand The Madonna del Rosario.

Still a fugitive, because he could have been captured and executed

anywhere, he went to Malta between 1607 and 1608, guest of theGrand Master of the Order of the Cavaliers of Malta, Alof de Wigna-

court. Though when fate seemed to favour him, his painting became

gloomy: the backgrounds became darker and darker and the brush-

strokes more rapid. The Beheading of the Baptist, for the Cathedralof St. John on Malta, is the only work signed by Caravaggio but in a

particularly dramatic way: the name is painted in red, with the blood

of the Baptist. It was accepted in the order of Malta as cavalier of

grace, but a short while after, because of the crime committed inRome or for a new event, he was imprisoned. He escaped and went

to Sicily where he stayed for about a year. In October of 1609, he was

back in Naples. He was assaulted and seriously wounded in a tavern.

He convalesced for a long time, but then he received notice of an im-

minent pardon by the pope and embarked for Rome, but was still

persecuted by his tragic destiny. He died during the voyage, in Porto

Ercole, on the 18th July 1610 for reasons which are still unknown.

The troubles of every type which happened to Caravaggio reveal,

however, a complex and sensitive personality: it is not surprising,therefore, that in the Rome of the Counter-reform he had placed his

painting, so innovative, at the service of new religious ideals as

those supported by the Oratorians and Capuchins.

35

The Sick Bacchus (photo SBAS)


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TheCouncil

Florence, The Uffizi

The sacrifice of Isaac, The Head of Medusa, Bacchus

London, The National Gallery

The Supper at Emmaus

Lugano, von Thyssen collection

St. Catherine of Alessandria

Malta, St. Johns Cathedral

The Beheading of the Baptist, St. Jerome

Messina, National Museum

Resurrection of Lazarus, The adoration of the shepherds

Milan, Ambrosian Art Gallery

Basket of fruit

Naples, Church of Pio Monte della MisericordiaThe seven works of Mercy

Palermo, Church of St. Lawrence

Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence

Paris, Louvre

Good Luck, The Death of the Virgin

Siracusa, Church of Santa Lucia

The burial of Santa Lucia

Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

Madonna del Rosario

The main works of Caravaggio

in the great museums andchurches of the world.

Documents

Caravaggio Rome Guide